Man's Best Friend
by Hexalys
Summary: Finding yourself in your favorite anime is every fan's wish, right? Erin certainly felt that way and thanks to an errant feather she found one night, her wish becomes a reality as she wakes up in the world of Tsubasa. There's only one problem, she's been turned into a dog. Is it still a dream come true? Follows Manga/Anime
1. Be Careful What You Wish For

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles nor any of the affiliating titles and characters.

Oh, god, I gotta stop doing these OC stories. This is my fifth one! I guess the only good thing is that I can promise I'll never do OCs for major titles, like Naruto or Harry Potter. In my opinion, there are just some things that shouldn't have an OC involved. I suppose you guys are getting sick of these, so I promise that the next story I post, which shouldn't be for a while, will have no OCs. Sound good?

Now as for this story, I like to put my OC's in different situations to make each story different from other OC fanfics. Hopefully, the summary was enough to make you curious because I think I'm really going on a limb here. The storyline will follow both the manga and anime, but I won't be referencing the English Dub. As much as I loved it, the Japanese version is better. That said, please enjoy the story and leave lots of reviews!

~Man's Best Friend~

Chapter 1: Be Careful What You Wish For

It started out as a dream and then it became a wish, an impossible one to be certain, but it was a wish just the same. It wasn't a very unique wish; many people had made similar ones before. The person who made this wish was no better or worse than those others. The only thing that made this wish different was that it came true.

And it was all thanks to a feather.

Erin had found it while walking her dog, Mutt. Not the most creative or flattering name, but that was the reason for why Erin had picked it in the first place. Mutt was nothing special all things considered. She was a Shiba Inu with tan fur and a white underbelly and she would be turning four years old next month. Erin loved her dearly as Mutt was the only family she had left.

It was Mutt who'd originally found the feather. Erin only spotted the pink glow once the dog had dug most of it out. Thinking that it had been a phone or an abandoned glow stick, Erin had rushed over to save it from being chewed on. To her surprise, the source of light turned out to be a feather, and not just any feather, but a pink one that she recognized immediately. It was from one of her favorite mangas, Tsubasa Chronicles.

Of course Erin didn't think it was real at first, so she'd tried to rationalize its existence. A prop made by a dedicated fan, a figment of her imagination, a normal feather that had been doused in toxic waste. The theories were many and each managed to become even more farfetched than the last. One thing was unanimous though, it wasn't a real Sakura feather. With that thought in mind, Erin had seen no harm in making a wish on it.

Taking the feather into her hands, she paused to admire its beauty up close. She'd never seen anything like it before. The light truly did seem to radiate from the feather and Erin could feel that it was warm, like it had been sitting in the sun recently, even though it was almost midnight. Feeling self-conscious, she looked around to see that only Mutt was staring up at her. Reassured that no one was there to see her make a fool of herself, she closed her eyes and brought the feather close to her chest.

'_I wish it was all real, that Mutt and I could be there, together, and help collect Sakura's feathers._' Through her eyelids, Erin could see the light getting brighter and she gasped as the warmth spread throughout her body. Opening her eyes she saw a seal, like the ones in the anime, appear beneath her feet and Mutt began to bark frantically at the feather that was now floating above them. '_Holy shit, it actually worked?!_' Was Erin's last thought as light exploded in front of her face, only to be swallowed up by darkness.

~Man's Best Friend~

Erin slowly woke up, blinking furiously as her vision came in fuzzy and everything looked odd. She was in a foreign room with a bare wooden floor and white walls. Despite the plainness of the room, there was definitely an oriental feeling to the design. It took Erin a few seconds to realize that she was on the ground and when she tried to stand up, her legs wouldn't cooperate.

"Ah, you're up I see." Startled, Erin looked up to see a woman standing above her. She tilted her head as she saw that the woman looked like a cartoon, literally. She was outlined in ink; her long, impossibly straight black hair swooped down to the floor as she bent forwards to hover over Erin directly. Her red eyes, another notable impossibility, were too big, and her skin was devoid of blemishes or wrinkles. For further proof of her anime appearance, her figure defied the laws of reality. She was almost unnaturally thin, her limbs long and pale, but her chest was too large in comparison to the rest of her body.

"I must still be out of it." Erin muttered to herself as she gave her head a quick shake. Looking back at the anime woman, she realized she knew who this person was. "Hey, you're Yuuko!"

"I am." Yuuko said with a smile. "And who are you?"

"Uh, Erin Locke." She paused before huffing a laugh. "This is the weirdest dream I've had in a long time."

"You're not dreaming." Yuuko corrected lightly and Erin rolled her eyes.

"That's exactly what a dream would say." She attempted to pull herself onto her knees, but her limbs felt odd and wouldn't move the way she wanted them to. "Okay, why can't I get up?"

"Perhaps it's because you're not use to walking on four legs?" Yuuko offered and Erin frowned at her.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yuuko pointed behind her and Erin turned to see a familiar fur coat and tail in the place where her body should be. "What the–" Looking down, she saw Mutt's paws laid out in front of her. She tried moving her left hand, but only a paw lifted into the air. "T-This is just more proof that I'm dreaming!" She stammered, try as she might though, Erin couldn't deny that she felt wide awake at the moment. Her heart was racing, her breaths were frantic and shallow, and her eyes felt surprisingly wet. "I can't be a dog!"

"Oh, so you did used to be human. I thought as much. Being the Dimensional Witch, I'm able to understand all languages, but I've never been able to speak with animals before. I suppose, since you actually have something to say, I'm able to pick up on what you mean." Yuuko smiled to herself, completely dismissing Erin's panic attack. "Well, you learn something new every day."

"Stop smiling, this is my life dammit! I don't want to be stuck inside my dog's body!" She yelled, startling herself as a growl erupted from her throat.

"Your dog's body?" Yuuko asked curiously, looking completely unperturbed by Erin's shouting.

"Yeah, see I found this feather, Sakura's feather, and I–"

"You know about the feathers?" Yuuko interrupted, her voice coming out sharper than before.

"Um, yeah?" Erin nodded slowly and Yuuko looked away in thought. "Anyway, I made a wish on it to come here with Mutt and help collect Sakura's feathers." Yuuko gave her a deadpanned look. "It's not like I thought it would work!" She added defensively and the woman smirked.

"I thought this was a dream? Are you saying you believe this is real now?" Yuuko teased and Erin grumbled to herself as her gaze lowered to the floor. "The way I see it, your wish came true." Erin glanced up at her in surprise.

"Huh, how do you figure that? I didn't wish to become a dog."

"No, but you desired to be here with your dog, and there's no denying that's you're both here. It's your soul inside your dog's body." Perhaps it was because the initial surprise was over, or maybe it was because of the calming way Yuuko spoke, in any case, Erin didn't feel as panicked as she should be, considering the situation. Maybe she was still in shock?

"Are you serious?" Yuuko nodded. "Man, talk about a Monkey's Paw. Alright, so where's my body then? Is Mutt in it?" Erin asked worriedly. The mere thought of her dog running around in her body was enough to make her pale. She could just picture herself barking up at a tree in a crowded park. If anyone saw that, Mutt would be tossed into the nearest looney bin.

"I don't know where your body is, but I can sense that your dog's soul has not left her own body, she is merely sleeping." Yuuko explained as she laid a glowing hand on top of Erin's head. "Your presence has overpowered hers."

"That's just great." She groaned sarcastically. "Okay, so how do I get back into my own body?"

"There is a chance that your body never left your world. Then again, it's also possible that it landed in another world while you were crossing over." Yuuko answered lowly. "Either way, if you want to find your body, you must travel to other worlds."

"Like Syaoran and the others." Erin said while nodding to herself.

"How do you know about them and Sakura's feathers?" Yuuko questioned, her red eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Uh, well, in my world you're all just a bunch of fictional characters, a story."

"So you know what will happen, all of it?" Yuuko's serious tone suddenly reminded Erin that she was dealing with one of the most powerful people in Tsubasa. "Even the events that I have not foreseen?"

"Yes ma'am." She replied quietly. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It is if Fei Wong Reed finds out you possess such knowledge." Yuuko closed her eyes in thought. It was silent for a full minute before she opened her eyes again, her sight landing on Erin immediately. The girl-turned-dog did not like the intense look Yuuko was giving her. "Why did you wish to come here?"

"I didn't think it would come true." She mumbled sourly.

"If you had known what would happen, would you've still wanted to be here?" Yuuko persisted and Erin paused in thought. Would she still have made her wish?

"Well, I might've wished to go somewhere else. And if I'd known I would have been turned into a dog, I would've been more specific with my wish. But yeah, I think so." Yuuko tilted her head, prompting for her to continue. "I mean, after reading about you guys, I kinda fell in love with your characters."

"Interesting choice in words." The Witch mused with a smile.

"Not like that!" She growled and Yuuko chuckled. "Syaoran was so full of determination and loyalty; I know he'd do anything for Sakura. Kurogane and Fai were so much fun to read about, especially with Mokona joining in to tease Kurogane. Their adventures were amazing and I couldn't help, but yearn to experience those things for myself." Erin frowned as she lowered her head to the floor, ignoring her paws as best she could. "I guess that makes me sound pretty envious."

"So it's the knowledge of them that you treasure." Yuuko surmised and Erin attempted a shrug. It turns out that dogs can actually pull that off.

"I guess."

"Then that will be your payment for traveling to other worlds." The Witch stated suddenly with a solemn nod.

"Wait, what!?" Her head shot off the floor as she stared up at Yuuko in alarm. "What's my price? I don't think I understand."

"You valued them so much that you wished yourself away from your world and everything you had. So I will take the personal knowledge you possess of Syaoran, Sakura, and the others." Yuuko paused as if to let her words sink in. "You will still remember who they are, their quest, and that they were a story in your world, but retain only the simplest of information."

"Will I still remember what happens in the future?" Yuuko shook her head. "But then how will I change anything? I could save the others from so much suffering!"

"Have you not heard the saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions? To deviate from the future's charted course would be catastrophic. Syaoran knows this better than anyone. His deal with Fei Wong has changed many lives and put time itself in a unnatural loop."

"Wait, so you think I could distort the timeline like he did?" She asked anxiously and Yuuko nodded.

"Or perhaps create something much worse." Even Yuuko looked worried at that thought. "If Fei Wong ever learnt about what you know, the future could shift so much that it would be the end of everything." Erin couldn't help but shutter at her eerie, foreboding words, absently noticing that her ears were drooping.

"So losing my memories of what'll happen is for the best, got it." The Dimensional Witch shook her head.

"I do not have the ability to take away memories, only seal them. It is still a week's time before Syaoran and the others arrive, you will learn to get used to your new body during that time." Yuuko crouched down in front of her, her long dark red dress sweeping out around her. "However, I would prefer to seal your memories now, if that is acceptable?" Erin looked at her for a second, thinking it over before nodding slowly. She didn't want to lose her memories, but she also didn't want to be the cause for the end of the world.

"It makes no sense to wait, really." Yuuko gave her a reassuring smile before she grabbed Mutt's silver nametag. A bright pink glow outlined Yuuko's hand and Erin saw a magic circle appear beneath her on the wooden floor. After a few minutes, Erin suddenly got that gnawing sensation she usually had when she'd forgotten something important. Once finished, Yuuko released the tag, revealing that it had been altered. On the front where Mutt's name had once been inscribed, it now had Erin printed across it in capital letters. The backside that had listed Erin's address was replaced with a smaller version of Yuuko's magic circle.

"It is done." Yuuko said and Erin blinked, wondering exactly what the Witch was talking about. "That collar cannot be taken off through normal means, but if it is removed, then the seal will be broken and you will regain your memories."

"Yeah, uh, memories of what?" She asked and Yuuko frowned as she stood up with not even one wrinkle on her dress.

"Of what you is most precious to you." Seeing as the anime woman was being cryptic, Erin searched her mind for answers.

She had found a magical feather, made a wish to go to another world, and had woken up stuck inside the body of her dog. Yuuko was the Dimensional Witch, a character from an anime Erin had only seen in passing. She knew there were four main characters to the show, and that they were searching for magical feathers like the one she'd found, but that was about it. To get back her body she would have to travel to other worlds, so she'd traded some of her memories as payment. Erin briefly wondered what those memories had been about. It didn't seem like anything from her personal life was missing.

"Come Erin, I think it's time you got use to your new body. You only have a week before your adventure begins."

"Uh, two questions Yuuko." Erin started while struggling onto her feet again. With enough concentration, she leveled out, but had to focus on balancing. The tail was throwing her completely off center.

"Yes?"

"How will I find my body? I'm just guessing here, but I assume that these other worlds are just as big as my own." Her back legs buckled for a second, but she recovered quickly.

"If you arrive in the dimension that your body is in, your tag will glow." The Witch answered easily. "The closer you get, the brighter the light."

"Okay, cool. Second question, what happened to the feather I found, the one that brought us here?"

"That I don't know. Perhaps it is with your body." Yuuko said after a moment. "Or perhaps it too was sent to another world. Whatever the case, I'm sure you will find it along with Syaoran and the others."

~Man's Best Friend~

The week passed by slowly. Erin, once she worked out the dynamics on how to walk on four legs, found herself sitting listlessly by Yuuko's side more often than not. There were others around the shop, the two creepy girls, Maru and Moro, the high school student Watanuki, and the pair of rabbit-like creatures, Mokona and Larg. Erin could remember reading _xxxholic_ in passing, but she'd never gotten past the first few chapters.

Watanuki was a cool kid and Erin got along with him well enough. Maru and Moro seemed to be obsessed with brushing her fur and it felt good so she let them, though the two argued over her sometimes, resulting in Erin being caught in a physical tug of war. Mokona and Larg were adorable, and they tended to use her as transportation more often than not, often asking for rides on her back. Yuuko was still something of a mystery, but she seemed like a good person. She was a lot more fun after a bottle saki.

Despite the sluggishness of the passing days not being what Erin wanted, they were exactly what she needed. She'd broken down into hysterics the third night before Yuuko had knocked some sense into her. People weren't supposed to find out that fiction was real; it messed with their perception of reality. Watanuki proved to be an excellent friend in that regard, as he told her of his ability to see the supernatural, though it had freaked her out to know that ghosts were real in this world. The week gave Erin the time she needed to accept everything that had happened to her.

She was in an anime, she was a dog now, and she had a mission.

"Are you sure you want to be all the way over there?" Yuuko asked, her voice coming out a little louder than normal so that she could be heard over the rain and distance. Yuuko was dressed to impress today as she wore a long, beautiful black dress that was decorated with a crescent moon in numerous places.

"I don't want smell like wet dog. I'm perfectly fine over here." Erin called back from the shop's porch, taking shelter under the extending roof. In truth, a Shiba Inu's fur coat was basically waterproof, but she wanted to make a good impression on the others. Her jumping around in the puddles wouldn't do that. After a few seconds a bubble, that really looked more like the scenery was being warped, suddenly descended from sky landing in front of Yuuko. Erin sat up straight, tail wagging eagerly as she watched the dimension distorting bubble pop to reveal a young boy holding an unconscious girl.

"They're here." The Witch said as two more distortions began to form from the ground in front of the boy. To Erin's right appeared a kneeling man who wore a black cloak and held a long sword, looking ready for a fight. To the left stood another man, one with a long white coat lined with white fur and holding a golden staff. If she remembered correctly, then their names where Kurogane and Fai. The boy, an alternate older version of a character from the anime Card Captor, was called Syaoran, making the girl Sakura.

"Who are you?" The kneeling man asked in a deep tone. Erin tilted her head in surprise. She knew the English voice actor was Christopher R. Sabat, but Kurogane sounded like his Japanese actor. '_Aw, that's disappointing._'

"The Dimensional Witch, correct?" The other man answered brightly. Like Kurogane, Fai's voice was that of his Japanese voice actor. '_No, I wanted to hear Vic Mignogna's sexy voice!_' Erin thought as anime tears streamed down her face.

"That is what they call me." Yuuko confirmed.

"Please save Sakura!" Syaoran pleaded, distress radiating from his tone. "I beg of you, please save her!" Erin took her chance to get a closer look at the lead character. He wore a worn dark green cloak, a black tank underneath, and off-white pants. His hair was slightly spikey and brown, as were his eyes. His limbs were lithe with some muscle beginning to show, and he seemed to be of average height for someone his age, which she estimated to be around fifteen.

"That girl, her name is Sakura?" The Witch asked and Erin muffled a scoff. Yuuko knew who they all were, she was just trying to be mysterious and dramatic.

"Yes." He replied.

"And you are?" She continued.

"My name is Syaoran." Yuuko stepped forward to lay a hand on Sakura's head, her palm glowing slightly as she checked over her condition.

"This girl has lost some important things, hasn't she? And they have scattered across different worlds. At this rate the girl… will die." Syaoran gasped.

"And just who might you be?" Kurogane asked irritably and Erin turned to him to see that he was no longer kneeling. The first thing she noticed was that he was very tall; he was definitely over six feet. He was lean and muscular, with tanned skin and short, spikey black hair. His eyes were a more vibrant shade of red than Yuuko's and he held himself with pride. She guessed he was in his mid-twenties, maybe a little older.

"Please introduce yourself first."

"I'm Kurogane." The angry looking man answered before glancing over his shoulder. "Actually, where the hell is this place?" His eyes landed on Erin briefly before they returned back to the Dimensional Witch.

"This is Japan." Yuuko replied.

"Huh, but the place I was in was also Japan?" Kurogane countered as he frowned at the kneeling woman.

"But this is a completely different Japan." Yuuko stated calmly, not really explaining anything and Erin had to wonder if the woman did that for her own amusement.

"That makes no friggin' sense." Kurogane growled, but the Witch merely turned her gaze to the Fai, indifferent to the swordsman's confusion. '_Yep, she's gotta be laughing at all of us from the inside._'

"And you?" Erin's eyes took in the other man's appearance as he bowed in greeting to Yuuko. She saw that Fai had ruffled blonde hair and blue eyes that shone like crystals. He was pale, tall, though nowhere near as tall as Kurogane, and was rather lanky. His long limbs and thinness would have been a sure sign of anorexia if they were back in her world. She doubted that he was older than twenty-five.

"I am a wizard from the country of Celes, Fai D. Flowright." The wizard's blue eyes turned to Erin for a second, and they widened in surprise before he smiled suddenly.

"Watanuki, go to the storage and bring those things back." Yuuko said as she stood. Erin started as she looked to her left on the porch, surprised to see Watanuki and the twins standing beside her. She'd been too focused on studying the others to even notice.

"Yes, ma'am." Her assistant replied as the two girls took his hands and led him away to the storage room, which Erin knew to be a shrine-looking shed located in the backyard.

"How can I save Sakura?" Syaoran asked again, urgency filling his voice. "Please tell me."

"In order to save her life, you will have to go through different worlds and collect her scattered memory fragments." The Dimensional Witch said while giving him a side glance.

"Scattered memory fragments?" Syaoran muttered before his eyes widened. "So those feathers…"

"Yes, that's right. If you manage to gather all of her feathers, you will be able to save her life. That is your wish, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you two, from the mere fact that you are here, must have some request as well." Yukko stated simply as her gaze landed on Erin briefly.

"A request? That's simple. Send me back to the world I just came from." Kurogane replied.

"I just don't want to go back to the world I'm originally from." Fai added with another smile and Kurogane sent him a look between a glare and a frown.

"You're dreams are all one and the same." The Witch responded as she looked at Fai. "You do not wish to go back to your own world, and want to go to other worlds." She then turned to Kurogane. "You long to leave this foreign land and go back to your original world."

"That's right." Kurogane said while still glaring at Fai.

"And, you wish to go to different worlds to recapture her scattered memory fragments and save her life." Yuuko said as she studied Syaoran, who nodded. "Though your motives differ, the steps that must be taken are the same. What matters is traveling to different worlds, wanting to go to other worlds. But, in order for you to go into different worlds you must all give up something precious to you."

"Precious?" Kurogane asked and Erin's thoughts once again turned to her sealed memories.

"In order for your dream to come true, you must give up something very important; of equivalent value. That's what you mean, right?" Fai questioned and Yuuko gave a slight smile as she closed her eyes.

"Yes, that's right. In order to go into different worlds, you must give up something very precious to you. I cannot merely grant each of your wishes. But if the three of you are willing to work for the same objective, then I will let you go after each of you gives up one valuable thing."

"Each of us?" The swordsman repeated and the Witch nodded.

"For example, in your case, your katana perhaps."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Kurogane shouted as he jumped away from Yuuko, his sword clenched tightly. "The Silver Dragon is my life. I'll never hand it over!"

"That's fine, if that's how you want it. You'll just never be able to return to your original world then." Kurogane growled at her, but Yuuko was undeterred as she inched forwards and started to poke the swordsman in the chest. "So what's it gonna be tough guy?" She sang her last few words and looked positively mischievous. "I'm the only one in this world able to send you to another world."

"Bullshit!" Kurogane yelled angrily.

"It's true." Fai chirped happily and Kurogane glanced at him with in disbelief.

"Really?" Fai smiled and nodded, looking a little air-headed while doing so. Kurogane looked over his prized sword one last time before sheathing the blade. "Shit! I'll definitely be back for this someday." He promised in low tone while holding out his sword. "Until then, I'll leave it with you." The sword was outlined in a pinkish light as it floated from Kurogane's grasp over to Maru and Moro, who had returned at some point without Erin noticing again.

"Your precious item shall be the tattoo on your back." Yuuko said to Fai, who looked surprised for a second before the smile returned to his face. Erin hadn't noticed it before, but his smile seemed empty, like it was his default expression or something.

"I don't suppose this staff will suffice?" He asked, not sounding very hopeful.

"It won't. The precious item must be something of extremely high value to its bearer." The Dimensional Witch answered softly.

"I guess it can't be helped." Pink light glowed from Fai's back as the outline of his intricate tattoo lifted off of his skin and joined Kurogane's sword.

"Syaoran, your important thing will be… your relationship."

"My relationship?" He repeated, clearly unsure of what Yuuko was asking.

"It is the most important thing to you. That is, your relationship with that girl. So I am going to take that." At this point Erin grew bored with sitting, so she padded over to Yuuko's side, taking a minor detour to jump in one of the larger puddles. Out of habit, the Witch's hand scratched the spot just behind her left ear, causing her tail to wag in contentment. Annoying as it was, Mutt's body and antics had a tendency to take over at times. She suspected this was where her sudden fondness for puddles came from. Erin hadn't been able to look Yuuko in the eyes for an entire day after she'd been caught chasing her own tail.

"What do you mean?" Syaoran asked, his gaze flickering to her briefly.

"Even if that girl's memories are returned completely, all of her memories regarding you will never return." The Dimensional Witch explained. "And that's why you will never be able to have the same relationship you had with her before. That, Syaoran, is your most important item." The boy was silent for a moment as the patter of the rain consumed the group in its unnatural heaviness. "What is that girl to you?"

"To me, Sakura is… She's my childhood friend. Even though she's the princess of our kingdom… She is… an important person to me." He paused as he laid his forehead to hers. "But… I will go. I will never let Sakura die!"

"Traveling through different worlds will be more difficult than you could have ever imagined. There are all sorts of different worlds, for example, the worlds that those two came from. You should be able to tell just from their clothes. Neither of them lived in the same world as you. It's possible that a person you know from a previous world will be living a completely different lifestyle in another world. It's even possible that you might meet the same person, only in a different guise, in many different worlds. Those worlds may be full of nothing but criminals, or full of lies. Or even a world in the depths of war. You have to survive and travel through them all. You have to seek out her memory fragments, even if you have no idea as to their whereabouts. Never knowing when it will be over, you must embark on a long, long journey. But you won't let that affect your decision, right?"

"Right." Syaoran agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"Your resolve and devotion, you will need these to accomplish the tasks that lie before you. But it seems to me that you already possess such traits." Watanuki returned then, carrying both Mokona and Larg in his arms and Mokona jumped onto Yuuko's open palm. "This little one is Mokona Modoki. He will lead you to other worlds."

"Hey since you have another one over there, give us that one too." Kurogane said while pointing at Larg.

"That one is for transmission purposes." Yuuko clarified with a smile and Kurogane scowled. "Mokona will bring you to other worlds, but he cannot control where you are heading. And that's why it's up to chance as to whether your wishes can be granted. But within those words there is no such thing as coincidence. All there is, is inevitability. The fact that you've all met was inevitable as well."

Erin frowned slightly and glanced up at the others. Kurogane glowered, Fai smiled, and Syaoran held Sakura tightly. By what she gathered from listening to Yuuko, there was a good chance she would be traveling with them for some time. Erin tried not to let this fact bother her. Maybe she would luck out and find her body soon. It was all up to chance at this point. Or inevitability.

"Erin." Yuuko's voice cut through her thoughts and she blinked up at the woman, who smiled gently. "This is where we part ways." She nodded before stepping over to join the others, standing between Fai and Kurogane. Erin frowned as she saw that her head barely reached Fai's knees, making her feel positively tine compared to Kurogane.

"Hey, what's with the mutt?" The swordsman grunted while glaring down at her.

"Who're you calling a mutt?" She growled back, smirking as the man let out a surprised shout. "I'm a purebred Shiba Inu." Ignoring the man, she returned her attention to Yuuko and bowed her head gratefully. "Thank you for everything, Yuuko."

"Wow." Fai commented as he smiled down at her, not sounding surprised at her ability to speak.

"What the hell?!" Were the harsh words that came from Kurogane.

"A talking dog?" Syaoran uttered as he looked at her curiously.

"She will be joining you on your quest." Yuuko interrupted, regaining everyone's attention. "Now go forth." Erin looked up to see Mokona glowing brightly as he rose into the air.

"Mokona Modoki can't wait!" The little guy cheered happily. "Kapuu!" Large wings made of glowing white feathers expanded from Mokona's back and swirling magic burst forth into the air as streams of multicolored light. A magic circle, similar to the one Yuuko had used on her a week ago, appeared at their feet and the swirling lights descended upon them. The streams wrapped around her and the others, pulling them towards Mokona's open mouth. Erin closed her eyes to block out the light, before everything went black.

~Man's Best Friend~

Erin landed with a crash and somehow, she had feeling this was going to be the normal routine when arriving in new worlds. Looking down at her collar, she wasn't surprised to find that there wasn't any glow. Her body wasn't in this world. '_I didn't think it would be that easy anyways._' She groaned as she stood and shook her body, flinging off the rain that clung to her fur.

"Hey, watch it!" A deep voice growled from behind her and she turned to see Kurogane on the ground with Fai, Syaoran, and Sakura crowded on top of him.

"Oops, sorry about that." She apologized and he looked startled for a second before giving a huff. He sat up suddenly, throwing the others off of him.

"Ow, that hurt." Fai whined as he rubbed the back of his head and Kurogane glared at him. "I wonder where we are?"

"We're in a new world! Puu!" Mokona cheered as he suddenly landed on top of Erin's head. The three adults looked up at the surrounding buildings, taking in their new environment. It looked like a modern city, but there was rubble on the road with scorch marks and an overturned bus. It seemed like they'd landed in a warzone.

"Well it's not my Japan." Kurogane growled.

"It's not my world either." Fai commented happily.

"Nor mine." Erin added while looking over the anime drawn surroundings. She wondered if it was even possible to get back to her world. Then again, a feather had landed there, so why wouldn't they be able to go there too? She briefly imagined of how the others would react to being in the third dimension, before a sudden thought struck her. "Mokona, did you just eat us?" The little creature hummed.

"Mokona is Mokona." Erin waited for him to say more, but he seemed content to just rock from side to side while on her head.

"What kind of shitty answer is that!?" Kurogane yelled and Mokona jumped off her head with a mocking wail. The little guy landed on Syaoran's chest, causing the unconscious boy to shift slightly. His arms were around the sleeping princess, tucking her close to his side.

"Puu! Don't you want to see?" Mokona cheered while leaning onto the boy's face, and Syaoran began to wake up. He blinked slowly, not even reacting to Mokona's presence. The little guy jumped off his chest with anime tears streaming down his face.

"You don't like me…" Mokona continued with his fake crying as Fai picked him up. Erin looked over at Kurogane to see that the man was visibly restraining himself from strangling their only mode of transportation.

"It looks like you're up, huh?" The wizard said to the drowsy boy, who sat up quickly.

"Sakura!" Erin accidentally bumped into Kurogane, startled at Syaoran's sudden shout. The man growled in annoyance and she chuckled nervously while muttering an apology. Once Syaoran saw that Sakura was alright, his sights moved on to their surroundings. "What is this place?"

"Who knows?" Fai tilted his head and Mokona copied to motion. "We've just woke up as well. But I do know one thing…" He paused to look through the bars of the bridge they were on, frowning at the destruction below. "And that is, that this is a land we've never been to before." Fair gave the two kids a side glance. "You never let go of that girl even once, you know." The wizard pointed out suddenly.

"Mokona wants to be hugged too!" The creature shouted as he jumped up and down in Fai's arms.

"You're, umm…" Fai started with an apologetic smile as he'd forgotten the boy's name already.

"I'm Syaoran."

"My name is pretty long. Fai will do." The wizard glanced over his shoulder to look at Kurogane with a playful smirk. "So? What will we call that black one over there?"

"I'm not "that black one". You can call me by my name, Kurogane." The swordsman growled and Fai closed his eyes, the smirk still visible on his face.

"Kurogane…" He paused and brought up a finger to his chin. "Would it be alright if I call you Kuro-chan or Kurorin? Maybe Kurgy or perhaps Kuro-puu?" Before Kurogane could, no doubt, yell at Fai for his nicknames, Mokona landed on his lap.

"Mokona wants a hug!" He squealed while jumping around. "Hug me! Hug me!"

"Hey, you!" Kurogane shouted while leaning forwards, causing Mokona to cover his ears. "Why are you on my lap?!" Erin, at seeing Kurogane lose his cool. couldn't help but laugh at the pair. "What are you laughing at?!"

"As, yes, the most mysterious member of our group." Fai said and Erin realized she'd unintentionally bringing everyone's attention onto herself.

"I'm Erin Locke." She introduced herself and Mokona jumped back onto her head. Before anything else could be said, a young boy appeared at the end of the bridge.

"What are you all doing over there?" He shouted in alarm. He was a small boy, maybe about thirteen, wearing a black school uniform. "Hurry! Hurry up and run!"

"Who are you?" Syaoran asked, his hold over Sakura tightening slightly.

"I'm Masayoshi Saitou." The boy answered his alarm dwindling as he took in their appearances. "I've never seen such odd clothes before. Could you be from a foreign country?"

"Foreigners…" Fai shrugged. "Well I guess we are."

"In any case, this place is very dangerous! Please, escape at once!"

"What's going on?" Kurogane asked irritably and Erin walked over to stand next to Syaoran. Looking closely at the boy, she saw that he had no nose. '_Poor kid, wasn't even deemed important enough for a nose._'

"It's going to start if we don't get out of here immediately!"

"Start?" Fai asked calmly. "What will?" As if waiting for the very question to be asked, two different groups gathered on the roofs of opposing buildings. On the one behind them, the men consisted of Mohawks, spiked ornaments, and black leather clothes. The group facing them was made up with men wearing white scarfs, white gloves, and goggles.

"Ah, it's starting!"

"Who the hell are these guys?" Kurogane growled, looking unimpressed with both parties.

"I don't know, but I totally want that dude's goggles." Erin replied while nodding at the man in front of them with silver hair and orange lensed goggles as his long white scarf flared dramatically behind him.

"W-What should we do?" Masayoshi asked no one in particular while looking over the area. "That's it!" The boy shouted as he pointed at a nearby bus with shattered windows. "We can take cover behind that!" The group stealthily crept towards the bus, managing to remain unseen as two leaders from above started to banter. "Those guys are a gang that's been terrorizing the neighborhood. They've been patrolling this town every day since they got here a week ago."

"Heh, what an interesting bunch." Kurogane stated as he smirked up at the two gangs, obviously put in a good mood since a battle was likely about to start. "But none of them are carrying weapons. How do they fight?"

"Obviously, they use Kudan!" Masayoshi answered.

"Kudan?" Kurogane repeated the foreign word slowly. "What's that?"

"Shut up for a second and you might find out." Erin muttered so that only Kurogane could hear her. The man glared and looked ready to say something in return when the gangs suddenly moved into action. They shouted at each other wordlessly before orbs of light, blue on the goggle side and red for the Mohawks, appeared above her fists. They held their arms out and the orbs shot forwards like bullet or laser. The two groups fired at each other, turning the bridge they'd just been standing on into a battlefield. '_Oh, so everybody has their own gun. That's nice._'

"So that's the so-called Kudan technique." Kurogane said with a triumphant smirk. Erin rolled her eyes at the man.

"Ah, you really don't know, do you?" Masayoshi remarked with a confused smiled. The three of them jumped suddenly as Syaoran let out a short yell from behind them.

"What the hell are you doing?" The swordsman growled at Fai, who had obviously been the cause for Syaoran's shouting.

"This." The wizard replied simply as he pulled out a familiar looking feather from the folds of Syaoran's cloak.

"That's…"

"Ah, I thought I saw it before. This is a piece of that girl's memories, in theory anyway." Fai said with another smile.

"It was on my clothes?" Syaoran stared at it with wonder. "What a coincidence."

"There are no coincidences in this world, the Dimensional Witch said so herself. You found this feather unconsciously, to help save the girl." Fai's serious face took on a silly expression. "Or something like that. I really don't know. In any case, you should give this to that girl immediately." Syaoran took the feather gratefully just as Erin's ears flickered back as she heard something hurtling towards them.

"Look out!" She shouted at the same time as Mokona, though her warning was noticeably less cheery. A stray blast hit the ground next to them and Erin was surprised as Kurogane grabbed a hold of her, tucking her safely under his cloak. Blinking harshly against the smoke and dirt that had been kicked up, she caught a glimpse of Syaoran running out from behind their coverage.

"Hey!" Kurogane shouted after the boy.

"It's dangerous! Please come back!" Masayoshi added quickly, though his shout sounded positively pitiful in comparison to Kurogane's.

"Reckless, isn't he?" Fai commented with a happy face and Erin sneezed as the cloud of dirt irritated her sensitive nose.

"Why would be put himself in such danger?" Masayoshi muttered in confusion.

"He needs that feather to protect a person who is very important to him." Fai answered solemnly.

"To protect someone important to him…"

"Kid, move your ass!" Erin shouted, earning a surprised yelp from Masayoshi, and Kurogane grunted in what seemed to be agreement. The gangs of course noticed Syaoran running out into the open field and some of the Mohawks started firing at him instead. Syaoran tripped while avoiding the blasts, but he managed to catch the feather as he roll to the ground. Unable to move in time, the boy visibly braced himself to be hit, only for a barrier of fire to appear behind him, blocking his back from the Kudan attack. A creature that Erin could only describe as a fiery wolf with a horn on its head appeared in front of the kid.

"That guy." Kurogane huffed, sounding amused. Erin released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Anime was a hell of a lot more stressful when you're actually a part of it.

"So he possesses a Kudan too and a Top-Level one at that!" Masayoshi exclaimed and they turned to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean by top-level?" Mokona asked from his new spot in Fai's arms.

"There are different ranks of Kudan. The strongest one is called Top-Level." The boy briefly explained.

"Mokona kinda gets it."

"It's a grading system, Mokona. Think of it this way. S Class will symbolize the highest level of strength a Kudan can be. From there we have the lower classes, like A, B, C and D. Syaoran's Kudan is an S Class, meaning it's very powerful."

"Oh, now I get it. Erin is so smart!" Mokona praised.

"Nah, I just know it from experience. Ranks are kind of the fundamental blocks when it comes to choosing which opponents you can fight." She said with a careless wave of her head, pretending that her tail wasn't wagging at the compliment.

"Fighting, huh? You're saying you're a warrior?" Kurogane scoffed and she could feel the tick marks appear on the side of her head.

"I'll have you know I used to be a great warrior!" She growled, not bothering to tell him that all her experience came from virtual means. Video games had been her passion during her teenage years. Besides, she'd been taking self-defense classes for the last three years. That had to count for something, right?

Before their argument could really start, the Mohawk gang fired at Syaoran again. His Kudan charged forwards with a bird-like cry and batted the combined blast away with ease. Typically, the leader called for his men to retreat after that display of power. However, the guy with the cool goggles looked excited instead of scared. He jumped down onto the roof of a destroyed truck, kneeling as he studied Syaoran's Kudan.

"It looks like your Kudan is Top-Level too. My name is Shougo Asagi. And you?"

"Syaoran."

"So you've got the Kudan of Flame. But my Kudan…" Shougo lifted his right hand and a ring of water appeared over it. A blue energy slithered up around him, solidifying into the shape of a manta ray. "You've got Flame and I've got Water. Looks like we're gonna have one interesting battle."

"Most of the gangs are filled with nothing but scumbags. But Shougo-san's gang never picks on weak people." Masayoshi started with no small amount of admiration filling his tone. "They're a great gang! Especially their leader, everyone wants to be like him."

"Hmph, let's go." Shougo's Kudan shot a jet of water at Syaoran and his Kudan jumped up to block it, causing a massive wave of steam and wind to blow over the area. Erin had to duck down behind Kurogane to avoid being flung away. At hearing Mokona's cry, she guessed Fai hadn't been able to keep ahold of the little guy.

"You said your name was Syaoran, right? I've taken a liking to you." Shougo stated with a smirk. Suddenly, sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Shougo, the police are coming!" A gang member shouted and their leader frowned in disappointment.

"Ah, it was just getting good too. Alright guys, amscray!" His men gave out a hokey call before they retreated into the alleyways. "I'm looking forward to our next encounter." Then Shougo disappeared from sight too, his Kudan going with him. Syaoran's own Kudan took the form of a large fiery sphere before it floated into the kid's chest. He raced over to them and went straight to Sakura's side, holding out her feather before her. It floated from his hand and was absorbed into her chest. A slight sound escaped her and some color returned to her cheeks, but she didn't stir.

"Thank heavens, you're body has warmed up." Syaoran laid a careful hand to her forehead, relief visible on his face.

"Looks like that feather was exactly what she needed." Erin noted.

"Now we can rest at ease." Fai sighed in agreement.

"What's up with him?" Kurogane asked as he gestured to Mokona, who was nestled in Fai's arms, seemingly asleep.

"It looks like that big blast from before knocked him out."

"That's because you let go of him." Erin pointed out and Fai gave a sheepish smile.

"Well, we don't have to worry, he just fainted."

"Like I'd worry." Kurogane grumbled stubbornly.

"More importantly," Fai continued, "I'm quite interested in that over there." The group turned as one to look at the small boy in Chinese clothing that stood next to Masayoshi. The boy bowed before deforming into a blue ball of light, disappearing into Masayoshi's chest.

"Oh, so that was your Kudan?" Erin realized and Masayoshi nodded.

"Sorry if I startled you." The boy apologized.

"They've got one of every kind, huh?" Kurogane remarked and she nodded in agreement.

"Ah, I finally found y'all." A new voice said from behind and Erin turned to see a man in a green jacket with an orange shirt underneath, behind him stood a pretty woman in a purple dress.

"And just who the hell are you?"

"Why, I'm Sorata Arisugawa." He greeted them with a wave, not taking offense to Kurgoane's rudeness. "This here's my wife, Arashi." The police siren grew louder and Sorata began to look around them frantically while flailing his arms. "Ah, we can't get caught by the police. You're all very suspicious looking, especially you!" The man said as he pointed at Kurogane, who seemed angered by the remark.

"Please follow us. You may stay in our home for as long as you need to." Arashi stated more calmly than her husband. They followed the married couple to an apartment complex some few blocks away. Sorata bragged about his wife the entire time, while Arashi cut in to explain that they were in a place called the Hanshin Republic, pointing out street names and landmarks as they walked by. Sorata didn't seem to notice the interruptions or the fact that no one was listening to him. At around sunset they arrived and the group said goodbye Masayoshi before settling in.

"Before we got married, my wife here was a priestess. Ah, Honey, you looked so heavenly in that priestess outfit" Sorata continued with his story, looking every bit the love-struck fool. Erin wondered if the man had even realized that they were back at his home yet. "Since we got married she had to retire and all, but her spiritual powers are as strong as ever. That's how we knew y'all would be coming. Y'all can stay in the hostel we run. The room is vacant, so we figured what the heck?"

"That would be quite helpful." Fai responded with a smile. Erin nodded her head from where she sat curled up beneath the window. She was a couple feet away from Kurogane, who was sitting in the corner, and based near the top of the bed-mat that Sakura was laid out on.

"But why are you being so kind to us?" Syaoran asked from his position next to Sakura.

"The truth is we owe Yuuko, I mean the Dimensional Witch, a favor." Sorata answered with a kind smile. "So we're gonna take care of y'all while yer here. On one condition…" He pointed his finger at Kurogane. "I won't let you off the hook if you so much as lay a finger on my beloved Honey here."

"Geez, why are you directing that towards me?" Kurogane growled.

"I'm just kidding, man." Sorata teased while waving him off.

"He's kidding!" Mokona repeated excitedly.

"But seriously." He continued with a smile on his face.

"I'm not gonna touch her!" Kurogane shouted, irritation filling his tone. Erin started chuckling at the swordsman, earning surprised looks from the married couple as she hadn't spoken since their arrival.

"You gotta admit it, Kuro-Kuro, you don't give off the most trusting aura." She joked and he looked even angrier as he turned to her.

"Who asked you?!" He roared. "And my name is Kurogane!"

"I'll go put on some tea." Arashi said serenely as she left the room, dragging Sorata out with her by pulling on his ear. Silence fell over the room as she closed the door, somehow making Erin feel a little awkward.

After spending a week with Yuuko, who was an introvert herself, Erin knew that one of her personality flaws was that she didn't really know how to act around other people. To not appear shy or unsure of herself, she tended to act abrasively towards others, making sarcastic comments, and generally just piss people off in general. Now she was in the company of four other strangers for an unknown amount of time. She knew it would take her a little while to get an idea of what the others were like, but she didn't think she would have any problems getting along with Syaoran at least. Her gaze turned to Sakura and she was almost overwhelmed by the urge to lie down at the poor girl's feet. Her animal senses understood that Sakura was in pain, so they made her want to offer support in the only way a dog knew how.

"Her complexion has improved a lot." Fai started, seemingly dragging Syaoran out of his thoughts.

"Thanks to the feather." The boy agreed.

"But how do you plan to look for the next one?"

"Well…" Syaoran began only to realize that he didn't have an answer.

"Mokona knows how! Mokona remembers the wave given off by the feather!"

"What, you mean like gamma rays? Or do mean like sound wavelengths?" Erin asked with interest and Mokona's face fell as he ears lowered to the floor.

"Mokona doesn't know exactly how, but if Mokona senses a feather nearby…" His eyes suddenly opened wide, taking up about half the space on his face. "Mekyon… my eyes will get big!" It seemed like no one really knew how to respond to this, though Kurogane looked a little disturbed. "It happened to Mokona before."

"You mean the one that was stuck to Syaoran's cloak, right?" Fai asked and Mokona shook his head.

"I'm talking about another one. While Syaoran was fighting, there was another feather close by!"

"What did you say?" Syaoran furrowed his brow in thought. "Shougo…"

"That should be enough to go on." Fai said as he picked up Mokona. "For now, at least."

"If you sense any feathers, would you please inform us?" The boy requested and Mokona nodded.

"Just leave it to me!"

"Well you can leave me out of this." Kurogane cut in from his corner of the room. "I'm going back to my original world. That's my only goal. As far as putting my neck on the line for you, or helping out with your situation, don't count on it."

"I understand. This is my problem, I will be careful not to inconvenience you." Syaoron said and Erin was surprised at how mature his response was.

"Wow, Syaoran is such a serious guy." Fai remarked and Kurogane's gaze turned to him.

"So what about you? You planning on helping the kid?"

"Hmm… good question." He hummed while absently patting Mokona on the head. "Well for now, the most important thing for me is to avoid going back to my old world. I guess as long as it won't mean putting my life on the line, I'll help you out. I've got nothing better to do."

"Thank you very much." Syaoran replied.

"Mokona won't go to the next world until we find the feathers!"

"Thank you as well, Mokona."

"Ha, which means you have to help!" Erin exclaimed happily to Kurogane, who glared in return. "The faster Syaoran finds the feathers, the sooner we leave for the next world." He frowned, realizing that she had a point.

"Oh, and what about you, mutt!? You gonna help the kid out too?"

"Erin is Mutt!" Mokona chanted while twirling around on the floor as he understood the irony behind Kurogane's insult.

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered to Mokona before standing up to look at Syaoran. "I'll tell ya what kid; I scratch your back if you scratch mine."

"That's an odd thing to say." Fai remarked with his patented smile. It was actually starting to creep her out a little.

"It's a expression where I'm from. You get what it means right, equivalent exchange and all that? We help each other out." She explained while giving Fai a flat look.

"How can I help you?" Syaoran asked politely and Erin sighed.

"See, I used to be human." She began, absentmindedly swatting Mokona away as he tried to grab her tail. "My world is rather plain compared to others. There's no Kudan, no magic, no monsters. I found one of Sakura's feathers one night while walking my dog, Mutt." Kurogane gave a scoffing laugh and she growled at him. "Anyway, I picked up the feather, made a dumbass wish, and woke up like this in Yuuko's shop. Somehow, my soul ended up in Mutt's body."

"Sakura's feather, do you still have it?" Syaoran asked, his tone hopeful and she shook her head.

"I have no idea where it is. Yuuko thinks it was sent to another world, along with my body." She gave the boy her most somber look. "This is where I need your help Syaoran. I'm traveling so that I can find my body and return to normal. Help me do that, and I'll help you search for Sakura's feathers." Syaoran's brows furrowed and he nodded his head solemnly. Erin was pleased to see that he was taking this seriously.

"I understand Erin-san. I will do what I can to help, so please, bear with me."

The group soon turned in after that as some of them hadn't slept in the last day and half. Erin ended up caving in to her canine instincts and curled up next to Sakura's right side. The girl had barely reacted, letting out a small happy sounding sigh, but Syaoran had looked at her as if she'd found all of the princess's feathers. Fai cuddled up with Mokona against the opposite wall and Syaoran sat resolutely on Sakura's other side.

Unable to fall asleep, Erin glanced over at Kurogane an hour later to see that the swordsman was still awake, his face taking on a more subdued expression as he was clearly lost in his own thoughts. He must have sensed her stare because he looked up at her, his face half hidden by his cloak. She held his gaze for a few seconds, before a stab of sadness hit her for no apparent reason. Passing the emotion off as a sudden bout of homesickness, Erin burrowed closer to Sakura, wondering if they would find the girl's feather tomorrow.

~Man's Best Friend~

Well that's the first chapter you guys, and I'm honestly surprised with how well this turned out. I was a bit worried when I came up with this idea last night, but I'm so glad I went with it. Reading the other OC Tsubasa stories got me in the mood to make my own, so you can thank them for this. I also wanted to do something different. My OC being a dog didn't really come into play until this was halfway written.

See she still has her reason to travel the worlds, besides just wanting to help the Tsubasa gang, and that's getting back her body. Usually when OC's from our world are put in a story, they have to be all sneaky and hide their knowledge of the timeline. Here, even though she technically knows about everything, she's just as clueless as the others. I did this for many reasons that will play out as plot points at a later time.

–Hexalys


	2. The Hanshin Republic Part I

I wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to review!

~Man's Best Friend~

Chapter 2: The Hanshin Republic Part I

_Erin woke slowly, her eyes adjusting to the scenery of blue that met her. She felt as if she were floating, a strange sensation since she'd never floated before in anything other than water. Shaking herself to full awareness, she pulled herself up onto her legs, yelping in surprise when she found that there wasn't any ground beneath her._

_Her surroundings seemed to be like a vertical tunnel. What she first assumed to be a blue background was actually mixed in with gray and black, the colors swirling into each other and moving… almost as if it were alive. Rings of golden spheres wrapped around the tunnel, acting like a barrier. She wondered what would happen if she broke away from the tunnel's flow and pushed through the pattern of rings. Would she end up somewhere else, or would nothing happen at all? A deep throaty laughter from behind Erin cut that trail of thought immediately as she turned around, fangs bared and hackles raised on instinct alone. _

_She was taken aback as she saw that a giant snake stood not even ten feet from her. It towered over her, its scales colored pure white and studied her with gleaming purple eyes. The throaty laugh continued though, coming from the large serpent as it eyed her with amusement. Erin looked around her for the others, only just remembering that she was supposed to be with Syaoran and the gang, and held back a groan at realizing she was alone._

"_Relax little one." The snake, definitely a male from the tone of his voice, said as his tongue flickered out. "I have no intention of eating you."_

"_Oh, well that's good. I had no intention of being your meal." She retorted, wishing she had hands so that she could slap herself upside the head. 'Don't instigate the giant snake, dumbass.' She thought heatedly, tensing further as the snake only chuckled in response._

"_What an amusssing mortal you are. Yessss, I definitely chossse wisssely." The snake hissed in a pleased manner, the "s" sound of each word exaggerated slightly. _

"_I get that you're a snake okay. You don't need to do the generic hissing thing that all snakes do when they can talk in animations." Erin muttered lowly, though his throaty chuckle told her he heard what she said just fine. 'God, he sounds way too much like Orochimaru's Japanese voice actor.' She noted silently, not sure if that was a good thing or not. "So, to what do I owe this visit? I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be with Syaoran and the others right now. At least I think so." Had something gone wrong when Mokona sent them to their first world? _

"_Oh don't worry little mortal, you're friendsss are clossser than you think. I merely wanted to introduccce myssself. Fire, Wind, and Metal have already aligned themssselvesss with your companionsss. A youth with sssomething to prove, a warrior with a lesssson to learn, and a wizzzard with a passst to overcome, sssuch a boring lot, but not you. Oh no, you are very different, unique, ssstrange."_

"_Glad I caught your attention. You realize you're making absolutely no sense, right?" She replied steadily, unable to completely relax even though the serpant didn't seem to be a villainous type. But then again, one could never really trust a snake, not when animes were involved._

"_Yesss, I sssuppossse you wouldn't know what I'm talking about, not with that ssseal around your neck anywaysss." The snake hissed idly before lashing forwards suddenly. He quickly lowered his head to eye level and Erin reeled back only to bump into the snake's tail, which quickly slithered around her. The snake's body was easily seven feet thick, meaning that with her meager height, she stood chance of breaking free. Erin gulped nervously, caught off guard as the snake smiled at her happily. "Don't worry little one, my ssstrength is yoursss. Ussse it well."_

~Man's Best Friend~

"Morning, Kurogane-san." Erin heard Syaoran say as she woke to the sunlight streaming through the window. She yawned widely before stepping away from Sakura to stretch. '_What a weird dream._' She absentmindedly scratched at the scruff of her neck with her back leg, ignoring the slight noise her tag made, and frowned. '_Even in my own head I'm still stuck in Mutt's body._' She huffed, feeling slightly sore at her own subconscious for such a deed. "Morning, Erin-san."

"Good morning, Syaoran." She returned happily before grinning at Kurogane who was busy glaring at the floor. "And good morning to you, Kurgy."

"My name is Kurogane!" He shouted, unknowingly giving Erin the reaction she wanted. She didn't know why, but she really got a kick out of teasing the swordsman.

"Ah, what a lovely sound to wake up to in the morning." Fai remarked from his corner, rubbing one of his eyes and smiling lightly. "Good morning, Syaoran, Erin."

"Kuro-puu, you're so loud!" Mokona cheered as he jumped to the floor while Syaoran quietly returned a greeting to Fai in the background.

"It's Kurogane, manjū!" He growled, though not nearly as loudly as before.

"Mokona's right Kurogane, don't you have any respect for Sorata and Arashi? They took us in out of the goodness in their hearts and yet here you are, screaming your head off. You probably woke them up." Erin intoned with mock disappointment while slowly shaking her head at the man. Mokona copied her actions from beside her, but with a smile still planted on his little face. "So ungrateful, I'm ashamed to be around you."

"What the hell are you talking about, mutt!?" Kurogane shouted as he pointed his finger just millimeters from her face. "You're the one who's disrespectful, calling me all those stupid names! You're the one who should be ashamed! I have–" Whatever the swordsman was about to say next would forever stay a mystery because Erin, in a moment of actual irritation, suddenly bit the man's hand. "Aaaggghh! Let go, let go!" He shouted as he lifted Erin up into the air and physically tried to shake her off. "Damn it!"

Syaoran watched the pair with worry as Mokona and Fai laughed.

After a few more seconds Kurogane was able to get Erin off, blowing frantically on his hand that now glowed red and had swollen to ridiculous proportions. Erin noted that a large x-shaped bandage had appeared on the top of his hand and she could only sweat-drop at the antics this anime world could conjure up. Kurogane turned on her suddenly, looking furious as his teeth sharpened, looking like they belonged on a shark as his eyes went completely white.

"Why the hell did you bite me?!" He shouted angrily, a red tick mark appearing on the side of his head.

"Don't stick your finger in front of my face if you don't want me to bite you then!" She barked back, feeling her own tick marks appearing as she glared back at the man. She vaguely noticed that his hand was back to normal.

Erin had always considered herself a very laidback person, but she did have a few triggers that instantly set off her temper. One was when someone felt the need to stick their hands right into her face to articulate their point. Granted, she'd never bitten anyone before when they'd done it, but that had been all Mutt's reaction, who did occasionally bite when she felt extremely playful, scared, or annoyed.

"Good morning noisy freeloaders!" Sorata cried cheerfully as he threw open the bedroom door with a bang, Arashi standing behind him and looking perfectly calm. His arrival immediately killed the mood, leaving Kurogane to grumble to himself while the others returned the greeting.

"Breakfast is ready in the communal kitchen downstairs." Arashi added helpfully as she bowed to them.

"Thank you very much, Arashi-san." Syaoran replied as he stood and bowed back. Erin quickly raced out of the room and followed behind Sorata as he led them to the kitchen. Typically, the man proceeded to brag about his wife's culinary skills on the way there. The communal kitchen was a somewhat large room. The back wall was lined with appliances and cupboards for free use while three separate wooden tables were spaced out over the room. The Hanshin Republic seemed very much like Japan's culture, as the tables were made with a traditional style. They stood only a foot and a half off of the ground, surrounded with cushions instead of chairs.

The plates had already been fixed and Erin easily found her spot at the end of the able as her food was in a bowl. Kurogane grumbled about having to sit next to her, but she barely paid the man any attention. Her meal, thankfully, was not dog food, but rather an assortment of meats mixed in some sort of porridge. Beside it sat another bowl filled with water.

Erin waited until the others started to eat, observing the behaviors of her company. Syaoran and Fai thanked Arashi again before eating. Funnily enough, both of them seemed to have some difficulty using chop sticks, which Erin found odd since she'd figured that Syaoran had also come from a culture similar to the Japanese judging by the way he used suffixes like -san. Arashi and Sorata brought their hands up in silent prayer before eating, the two teaching Syoaran on how to use the foreign utensils as Fai seemed to master them already. Kurogane stared down at his food with a confused expression, clearly not recognizing the meal itself, but he quickly began eating after Mokona stole a bit of food off his plate.

Turning her attention to her own food, Erin took an experimental taste, humming in approval as the flavor rolled around in her mouth. Eating as a dog was something she was still coming to terms with. With Yuuko and the others, they'd fed her regular food and ate with her on the floor. It helped ease the transition, but that didn't change the fact that she now had to drink water out of a bowl rather than a glass, or that there was some foods she just couldn't eat anymore. '_God I miss chocolate._' Erin thought sadly as she drank from her bowl, concentrating so that it wouldn't move and fall off the table.

"How is it, Erin-san?" Arashi asked and Erin gave her widest smile.

"It's great Arashi, thank you very much for the meal." She answered truthfully. '_And thank you for not having me eat it from the floor._' That was a demeaning experience that Erin wanted to avoid for as long as possible. Breakfast ended not too long after that, with everyone thanking Arashi again for the food.

"We have some spare clothes that might fit you guys." Sorata began as helped his wife pick up the dishes. "You won't exactly fit in with the stuff you're wearing." He pointed out, causing Kurogane to frown while Fai nodded in agreement. With that, Sorata lead the boys out of the kitchen with Erin deciding to stay behind with Aisha. Clothes weren't really an issue for her anymore, not that she tried to think about it.

It was quiet for a few minutes as Arasha began washing the dishes in the back of the kitchen, but the silence surprisingly wasn't uncomfortable. It was nice and it gave Erin a moment to think about things. First and foremost, they needed to find the feather. Mokona had said they he'd sensed another feather during the fight with Shougo, so it was best to start there and see if the leader possessed the feather. Once they did find Sakura's feather, they could move onto the next world that would hopefully, though not likely considering her luck, be the location of her body.

"Erin-san?" Arashi asked hesitantly from her place in front of the sink and Erin turned to her. "I know it's not any of my business, but may I know what your situation is?" The former priestess continued politely, obviously not wanting to offend her guest.

"Oh, well I found one of Sakura's feathers in my world." She started, staring down at the floor as Arashi continued cleaning the dishes. "I was with my dog when I found it and I, uh, wished to go somewhere else. I passed out I guess and then woke up in Yuuko's shop, stuck inside my dog's body." She muttered, ignoring the way Arashi had stopped to look at her. "Now I have to travel to other worlds to find my body and get back to normal."

"I see." Arashi replied lowly, her voice carrying heavily of the silence. She set the last plate on a nearby rack to dry before turning back to Erin, a small smile on her face. "Let's go find the boys; they're probably ready by now." After heading back to the bedroom and finding it empty save Sakura, the two continued outside where they did indeed find that the boys were ready to go.

Syaoran now wore baggy jeans that were a little too long in the legs, grey sneakers, and a short-sleeved pullover that was blue and white. Fai had on regular jeans that he kept in place with a black belt, black dress shoes, and a light blue long-sleeved shirt that was a little short at the waistline, revealing an inch or two of skin. Kurogane wore a dark pair of skinny jeans, brown work boots, and a black t-shirt that was a tad too tight judging by the way he kept tugging on the collar.

"You guys look great!" Sorata approved with a grin, obviously trying not to laugh at the three and their slightly ill-fitted outfits. It was lucky that Sorata had anything close to their size. "You should be okay walking around town in those clothes."

"Okay then, we'll be off." Syaoran stated as he gave the couple a nod.

"Don't worry Syaoran-kun. I will stay by Sakura's-san side." Arashi said as she bowed in farewell.

"Thank you." The teen replied with a small relieved smile. Sorata motioned for Syaoran to hold out his hand, before giving him a purse that looked like a frog.

"There's some lunch money in there. The four of you be good and eat together, now." He explained once he noticed that Kurogane staring at it in confusion.

"Thank you very much." Syaoran said again and Erin found it odd that out of all of them, the teenager was the one with the best manners.

"So how come you're giving it to the kid to hold onto?" Kurogane grunted sourly, causing Sorata to give Syaoran a thumbs up.

"Because he seems to be the most trustworthy." Erin chuckled at the man's antics.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Kurogane growled, obviously not as amused as her.

"He means your face is very off putting, Kuro-Kuro." She taunted from beside Arashi and the swordsman turned to glare at her furiously. "See, that's what I'm talking about!"

"Kuro-puu has a scary face!" Mokona chirped from his place in Fai's arms, making the wizard laugh lightly.

"I do not!" He roared before abruptly turning away from the group, stomping onto the sidewalk and effectively getting their group to head out. "And my name is Kurogane!"

"Ah, wait Erin-san!" Sorata called belatedly, stopping them just outside the gate. Erin looked up at the man, who suddenly fidgeted and avoided her eye. "Well, uh, you see we have, um… leash laws so…" It took only three seconds for her to process what Sorata was trying to say.

"Oh hell no, I am not wearing a leash!" She shouted angrily, causing him back away nervously as he pulled out a dark blue leash from his pocket. Erin eyed the item with distaste, not taking her eyes off of the infernal thing for even a second. Sure she was in a dog's body, but she was still a human being dammit! If it were her choice, she wouldn't even be wearing the dog collar.

"But you'll get a fine." Sorata protested weakly. Arashi stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder before taking the leash. She crouched down to Erin's level and beckoned her forward with a sad, but firm frown. Erin stubbornly stayed where she was beside Fai.

"I said no, Arashi." She said to the woman, steadfastly planning to fight this every step of the way.

"You have two options Erin-san. Join the others and wear the leash, or stay here with me." Arashi replied, her stern voice leaving no room for argument. Erin's body automatically sat down, ears tucking downwards, instinctively reacting to Arashi's reprimanding tone the same way Mutt would have responded to hers. It was only with quick thinking that she managed to stop the reflexive whines that wanted to escape her throat.

Erin lowered her head instantly, avoiding everyone's eyes, embarrassed that she had so little control over her own actions. Arashi mistakenly took the gesture as a sign of agreement though, and the former priestess easily clipped the leash to her collar before handing it over to Fai, who took it without a word. The group left without incident after that, with Erin gloomily trailing behind the others in silence.

~Man's Best Friend~

A few hours later found them standing in the shopping district. Erin's leash had been passed between the other, except for Mokona of course, but they surprisingly understood how much being tethered bothered her and made no mention of her situation. Right now Kurogane was the one holding the leash and he seemed to just ignore it like he did everything else. Mokona was currently sitting on a nearby railing, his ears perked up, face the picture of concentration as he tried to sense Sakura's feather. After a minute though, he slumped in defeat and let out a small sigh.

"It's no good, I don't sense anything." He admitted sadly, ears drooping with his mood.

"You can't?" Syaoran asked, visibly disappointed and Mokona shook his head.

"Hmm, what could it mean that you don't sense the wavelength of the feather today, when you did yesterday?" Fai said aloud, his head tilting to one side as he glanced over the group. "What do you think it means, Kuro-tan?"

"Stop calling me those weird names." The taller man simple growled back instead of offering a possible answer.

"Erin was right, you are scary." Fai teased causing Kurogane to look away out of annoyance.

"Oh for the love of–" The swordsman cut himself off abruptly, before taking a step forwards as he stared off into the distance. "I-is that?"

"What's the matter?" Erin asked as she followed the man's gaze, her sights landing on the crowds of people.

"It's her, there's no doubt about it." Kurogane said more to himself than to her. He suddenly broke into a run, surprising the others as well as Erin since he was still holding the leash.

"What the hell!?" Erin yelled as she was forced to run after the man to avoid being dragged. She could hear the Fai and Syaoran call after them, but Kurogane showed no signs of slowing down. "Hey idiot, stop already. We're going to lose the others!" She shouted, but the swordsman ignored her completely. He led them down into what she'd originally guessed to be a subway, but actually turned out to be an underground mall. "Kurogane, stop!" Erin tried again, finally getting a response as the man came to a halt.

"Eh, what are you doing here mutt?" He grunted at her before turning back to look over the area. "Damn it, where did she go?"

"I'm here because you're still holding the leash, dumbass." She growled through her panting. Mutt's legs were pathetically short compared to Kurogane's and the man had been booking it. "And who's this person you're looking for?"

"Princess Tomoyo, I saw her." He answered shortly, his grumpiness returning to its normal level. Erin made a great effort in restraining herself from biting the man beside her.

"Moron, she's not your Tomoyo." She huffed and he glowered down at her. "Yuuko explained it at the shop, didn't she? In these new worlds, we're going to meet and see people who look exactly like people we've met before. The girl you saw was this world's version of Tomoyo, her counterpart." She continued, glad to regain her breath. Kurogane was about to say something in return before someone shouted from behind them.

"Hey, you!" They turned to see that it was the Mohawk gang from yesterday, with their pudgy leader at the front of the group. "You're the one from yesterday alright." The leader continued, smirking as the men behind him sneered and postured. "To think that you would walk into our territory all on you own. It saves us the trouble of having to track you down."

"I've got no business with you. Get lost." Kurogane said in an irritated tone and Erin snorted in agreement, noticing that most of the men reeked of booze, tobacco, and sweat.

"You might not have any, but we do!" The leader replied quickly, nearly drowning out Kurogane's words. The swordsman twitched at that and Erin gave a threatening growl that made the closer gang members back up a little.

"What did you say?" Kurogane asked, though his shift in attitude was not noticed by the Mohawk gang.

"We're going to use you and your dog as bait to lure out that detestable kid and make him join us." The leader stated as he pointed his finger at Kurogane's back. '_Again with the pointing, doesn't anyone know how irritating that is?_' The leader's fist was bathed in a dark purple light before, Erin could only describe it as a giant horseshoe crab, appeared above them. "My Kudan may not look like much, but it's a First-Grade. Now, unless you wanna get hurt, you'll come with us."

The Kudan lashed out faster than Erin could track and she let out a small shout of surprise as Kurogane picked her up, jumping them safely out of the way as its tail slashed at the floor. They ducked behind a nearby beam that was swiftly cut apart by the Kudan, causing Kurogane run out into the open. It spun towards them, its shell crashing into the spot the stood not even a few seconds ago. Erin could hear that the leader was talking, but she was too focused on the Kudan to pay him any attention.

Kurogane sidestepped another attack, only able to use his one hand to help him land since the other was wrapped firmly around her. He lost his balance and tumbled over sideways, rolling them to the side and curling over her protectively as the Kudan lashed out with its tail again. The ground burst from the force of the blow, sending rubble raining down on them. She tried to hold back the trembling that coursed through her body.

"Damn." Kurogane muttered, his right arm still wrapped around Erin. "That bitch. If only I had my sword, I could finish this fight with one slash."

"Sorry." Erin whispered, her heart racing terribly, knowing that she was unhurt solely because of Kurogane. She was very proud of herself for not screaming in terror so far. "I'm slowing you down." He shook his head while not looking at her, smirking instead at the Kudan above.

"This is nothing." A number of spikes suddenly appeared out of the Kudan's shell before shooting towards them. Erin somehow instinctively knew that they were coming too fast to dodge. She ducked her head down and Kurogane's arm squeezed around her tighter.

The resulting crash of the spikes tearing into the concrete was almost enough to deafen Erin's newfound sense of hearing. The kicked up debris left them in a cloud of dirt that she couldn't see out of, but Kurogane was already moving. He climbed up to the top of rubble, setting her down at his side while panting heavily. Dirt scuffed his face and arms, but he didn't seem to be hurt anywhere. The cloud of dust dissipated to reveal the Kudan charging up for another attack and Erin eyed it warily.

"You've got to be kidding, there's no way you're going to beat me with that thing." Kurogane smirked. "I can't die. Not until I get back to the world I came from." His fists clenched at his side, and Erin stepped back as a bright blue light outlined Kurogane's body. "Not until I see her again!" He gave a yell as two swirls of dark blue appeared behind him, twisting into each other to form a large blue dragon.

"Holy shit!" Erin shouted in surprise as she stared up at the giant creature. Its' pupil-less eyes turned to her and she quickly stepped behind Kurogane for cover. "Uh, if you're feeling particularly hungry Mr. Dragon, then might I suggest you eat Kurogane? He's got way more muscles than I do." Kurogane glared at her briefly before turning back to the dragon.

"You… were in my dream…" He muttered and the dragon roared in response before flashing a bright blue and turning into a sword of all things. '_Okay, so Kudan can be any type of beasts, human lookalikes, and now they can even turn into weapons. What's next?_' The sword was impressive looking, but it was more of a broadsword style than a katana. "You're saying you want me to use you?" Kurogane asked, his smirk now a full blown grin that promised trouble to his enemies. Erin jerked back, startled as the sword actually roared back. "So you want to go wild too, huh?"

Kurogane took the sword, his right hand crossing over his left in a backwards grip as he held the broadsword in a downwards angle. Erin was more than a little pissed at noticing that the damn thing was longer than she was. However, Kurogane showed no signs of strain at holding up such an oversized weapon. He jumped down from the mound of rubble, bringing the sword up into an overhead slash.

"Hama Ryū-ō Jin!" He shouted as a shockwave of blue energy cut the crab Kudan in half, making it disappear in a light of purple. The leader held his chest in pain, falling to his knees as his men shuffled around him nervously.

"C-change in plans. Hey, man in black, want to be one of us?" The leader asked weakly and Erin couldn't help but scoff at the kneeling man.

"You've got to be joking. There's only one person in my life that I'll ever serve." Kurogane growled as he glared at the cowering man. "And that's Princes Tomoyo."

"Then you're an enemy too." The leader stated before nodding at his men. "You may be too strong for us, but you left your dog wide open for an attack!" The gang raised their fists like the day before, and almost simultaneously, unleashed a barrage of energy bullets that headed straight towards Erin.

"Shit!" She heard Kurogane curse from below, but all she could focus on were the many blasts racing towards her. '_Move damn it!_' She shouted at herself, but it was no good. Her legs seemed to be made out of lead, feeling as if they weighed a hundred pound each and leaving her unable to take a single step. It was like her entire body was put in lockdown.

Erin was absurdly reminded of an article she'd read a few years back in college. It had talked about the fight-or-flight response. The topic had been about researches wanting to add a third category, freezing, meaning that the subject didn't react to the situation at all. She'd never believed the theory had any truth to it until now. '_Move idiot, do you want to die because you couldn't do something as simple as moving? At least duck down or something!_' At that last thought, Erin could have sworn she heard a deep, throaty laugh ringing in her ears.

She heard the explosion, Kurogane shouting something and the sound of the numerous blasts hitting something solid, but she surprisingly didn't feel any pain. Coming out of her shock, Erin's eyes were greeted to pure white scales as an amused sounding hiss that came from above. Looking up, she blinked slowly at seeing the giant snake from her dream was coiled around her protectively.

"An animal with a Kudan?!" She heard the Mohawk leader shout in shock, his men muttering around the same lines. "That's not possible!"

Erin's pounding heart began to slow and behind the safety of the snake's body, she let herself whimper only once as she buried her head into his scales, looking for comfort. She'd never been so scared before in her entire life. She could hear Kurogane yelling, the noise of breaking stone, and the resulting screams from the Mohawk gang that gradually faded away, but she stayed where she was. Erin knew she would be angry with herself later for acting like such a wimp, but for now she allowed herself a moment to be weak and recover her demeanor in private.

"Hey, mutt, you okay in there?" Kurogane asked after some minutes and she reluctantly pulled away from the snake, muttering a small thanks as he disappeared into a ball of white light the floated into her chest. She looked up at Kurogane and gave a wide smile, shoving everything else to the back of her mind.

"Did you frigging see that Kurgry? That snake was huge!" She crowed, already getting over her scare as she focused on the fact that she too had a Kudan. "I bet my Kudan could kick your ass!" Kurogane was silent for a second, giving her a measuring look before smirking.

"Hah, yeah right, I'd like to see you try." His frowned before looking over the area, which had predictably been deserted once the fighting had started. "C'mon, let's head back." Kurogane grabbed her leash and they left the partially destroyed mall behind, leaving it for someone else to deal with. Upon arriving on the surface, both travelers quickly realized that they had a problem. Neither of them knew how to get back to Arashi and Sorata's apartment building.

"Oh, this is just great." She grumbled and Kurogane nodded in agreement. "How the hell are we gonna get back?" With no visible answer, they walked around the area for about an hour, but didn't spot Syaoran or the others. Stopping at a bench, Erin found herself glowering at her leash in irritation. A gust of wind passed and she picked up the scent of the shampoo Arashi had been wearing that morning. Her ears pricked up as an idea hit her. "Hey, Kurgs?"

"For the last time, my name is Kurogane!" He shouted, causing the bystanders to look at him oddly.

"Yeah, yeah. Look, I think…" She sniffed the leash twice, before sniffing the air. "I think I can get us back by tracking Arashi's scent."

"You think?" He said shrewdly and she gave him an annoyed look.

"Well I've never actually tracked someone down with my nose before. It's kind of a new thing for me." She responded moodily before taking another whiff from the leash. "We can try it at least. It's gotta be better than sitting on our asses for the rest of the night." Kurogane grunted in agreement and they started out again, this time with Erin taking the lead. Twenty minutes later and a particularly strong breeze, she caught Arashi's scent and they reached the apartment building in fifteen minutes. "Oh yeah, do I rock or what?"

Kurogane didn't say anything, but Erin decided his small smirk was enough praise for now.

~Man's Best Friend~

She and Kurogane had surprisingly arrived at the apartment about an hour before the others came back. Kurogane had taken off her leash almost immediately and Erin had celebrated her freedom by running around excitedly on the small lawn behind the complex. Kurogane had left without her noticing and she'd stayed outside until Arashi had announced that dinner was ready.

Their evening meal had gone about the same way at breakfast. Erin ended up with a several pieces of fish while the others ate white rice, some sort of soup, and the same type of fish. The only difference was that had Kurogane grumbled about having to sit across from Fai, instead of complaining about sitting next to her. Dinner passed by quietly, with Arashi and Sorata answering the few questions Syaoran had about the Hanshin Republic.

Once they'd retired to their room, Erin sat curled up at Sakura's side, feeling exhausted from the day's events. Kurogane was off to the side doing… something to his sword. She didn't bother to ask what exactly since he seemed so focused on what he was doing.

Syaoran was of course on the other side of Sakura, dutifully waiting for her to awaken. His dedication almost made Erin want to roll her eyes at the kid. Could the love interest be any more obvious? Fai stepped into the room with Mokona in his arms, pausing to give both her and Kurogane curious looks, his gaze lingering on the sword maintenance that Kurogane was doing.

"What in the world happened to you two today?" Fai asked, continuing after a moment of silence where neither of them spoke. "C'mon Kuro-puu, tell us."

"Yeah, whatever." Kurogane replied, making Erin smirk.

"Kuro-puu isn't listening to us at all!" Mokona added helpfully.

"So it seems." Fai stated with a fake sigh of disappointment. "So what did happen, Rin-rin?" The wizard continued, a smile playing across his face. It took Erin a moment to realize he was talking to her.

"Rin-rin, seriously?" She asked with a chuckle that sounded tired even to her own ears. "Meh, we got ambushed by those Mohawk creeps. Kurogane took care of them pretty quickly." She muttered, feeling too sleepy to go into detail.

"Kuro-Kuro is so strong!" Fai cheered with Mokona jumping up and down in agreement.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!?" The sudden outburst was lost on the others as Erin reclaimed everyone's attention.

"Anyway, tomorrow we should all stick together." She yawned, inwardly smirking as Kurogane turned to glare at her. "For now, I'm getting some much deserved sleep. Good night everybody." She burrowed more closely into Sakura's side, sighing happily as her eyes fluttered close and sleep took her. Hopefully they would have better luck at finding Sakura's feather tomorrow.

~Man's Best Friend~

This chapter turned out to be way shorter than the first, but I doubt that I'll ever post another chapter for Man's Best Friend with that kind of word count again. I'm usually pretty good at putting out chapters in the 6,000 these days, but there's never really any guarantee. It all varies on how I'm able to work the chapter. I can definitely promise that I'll never post a chapter under 5,000 words though. So you can look forward to that.

I'd been debating on whether to give Erin a Kudan ever since I started this story. I got this idea from the other OC Tsubasa stories. Since several of them seemed to be found of giving their characters a snake, I just went with it. However my snake is a very good-natured character, preferring to have a good laugh over anything else. While each of the others were chosen by their Kudan for an important reason, Syaoran got Fire for his fierce protectiveness, Kurogane got a dragon for his battle prowess, and Fai got the giant bird for his desire of freedom. The snake chose Erin, simply because she was different and amusing.

_Manjū_ means bean bun in English; it's a Japanese confectionary. _Hama Ryū-ō Jin _basically means Dragon Purification Attack.

–Hexalys


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